It is well known in the field of dentistry that failure to remove plaque from dentition surfaces and debris from between dentitions is a principal cause of dental diseases, such as tooth decay and gingivitis and the like. Removal of plaque and debris by brushing is the commonest and easiest method known. However, brushing is generally inadequate, especially when self-administered. A more efficient and known technique is the cleaning of the dentition surfaces and areas between such surfaces by using a dental tape or floss (hereinafter generally termed "floss") which is moved reciprocally over and between the dentition surfaces. Furthermore, the reciprocating motion of the floss as it is manipulated over and between the dentition surfaces is beneficial as a treatment for and prevention of periodontal diseases, such as gingivitis and the like. This is so since the free margin of the gingiva which is adjacent to the individual teeth of the dentition and forms the gingival sulcus can be readily reached by dental floss, although it is generally inaccessible to a brush or other instruments, and the sulci are subject to the invasion of plaque or colonies of bacteria which cause diseases of these tissues. Thus, floss, in general, is particularly beneficial in removing plaque and debris, as well as serving, in .addition, as a vehicle for the application of medication. On the other hand, dental tape or floss is inconvenient and awkward to handle.
Consequently, much development has been undertaken in the past to provide dental tape or floss in various forms which is more convenient to handle and use. In addition, much development has taken place to provide mechanical devices for the flossing of dentition surfaces. Therefore, past developments have broadly involved the provision of dental tape or floss in various forms to render the same easier to use and the provision of mechanical devices to support or hold the dental tape or floss in a manner so that it can be employed with greater efficiency and facility.
As an example of such developments, U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,687 discloses a flossing device which is manipulated by hand and provided with a pair of spaced, resilient arms having fingers extending therefrom. The fingers are equipped with knobs on their distal ends and a length of dental tape or floss having a gromet on each end is disposed over the knobs on the ends of the fingers. A somewhat similar device, but which is power driven, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,354 in which the dental tape or floss is tensioned between a pair of L-shaped arms attached to a handle which is adapted to be driven by the power element. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,686 discloses a hand manipulated flossing device which includes a handle and an adjustable head provided with a single strand or a plurality of strands of dental tape or floss.
Still another dentition cleaning device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,872 in which a flexible dental tape or floss is disposed on a handle having a detachable yoke for tautly supporting a run of the tape, the tape being attached to a pair of anchor pins disposed on the handle and one of which is disposed on a reciprocable trigger mounted in the handle for the purpose of tensioning the tape. The tape per se is provided with non-elastic loops at each end which are disposed over the previously mentioned pins. U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,804 discloses still another apparatus which is a hand manipulated device for cleaning teeth that includes a handle with a nub disposed thereon and which is provided with extending, spaced arms having notches at the ends thereof. An endless or circular elastomeric dental floss or tape is disposed in the notches thereby passing across the space between the arms and around the nub. In a variation of the device a simple length of elastomeric band is anchored in the notches of the arms by means of shims or heads.
A further dentition cleaning instrument is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,274 in which a strand of dental floss is mounted on an extended fork which supports the strand and permits an oscillating movement which is imparted thereto by a drive means. In addition, the device also includes a spool for carrying the strand and for registering a new, unused portion of the strand for use in each subsequent cleaning cycle. A still further dentition cleaning device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,483 in which the device includes a pair of projecting arms disposed on a support frame, the arms being provided with guides at their outer ends to receive and permit relative movement of floss which passes from a spool to a take-up reel mounted on the supporting frame. The floss is driven in a reciprocating manner through a device provided with means to alternately remove floss from the supply spool and feed it to the take-up spool after each use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,022 there is disclosed another powered dentition cleaning or polishing device in which a tool having a conical stem portion is adapted to be inserted in and removed from a handle in which a reciprocating socket is provided therefor. The operating end of the tool is wedgelike and pointed, two broad sides being rough in order to abrade dentition surfaces and a third side therof being narrow and smooth in order to prevent injury to the gingiva. Another power driven cleaning device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,534,745. The device includes a housing provided with spaced prongs and a dental tape or floss holder and supply unit adapted to be removably attached to a power unit which imparts reciprocating motion to the tape as well as permitting the feeding of new tape to the unit after each .use. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,524 discloses a power driven dentition cleaning device including a power unit which is adapted to receive a cleaning unit which includes an elongated shaft provided with a pair of spaced tynes. A dental tape or floss supply holding member is removably positioned on the power unit and the dental tape or floss is fed therefrom through an eyelet in each of the tynes and back to the supply holding member where it is taken up on a take-up spool.
Mention may also be made of U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,740 of Dec. 29, 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,032 of May 16, 1989, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,233 of Dec. 3, 1991, all of which involve devices in which the floss is held in fixed position relative to the structure which supports it, and that structure, along with the floss, is power driven.
While the various devices disclosed in the above-mentioned patents are useful for cleaning dentition surfaces, they still exhibit various disadvantages. For example, many of them are extremely complex in structure and consequently relatively expensive to manufacture. In addition, many of the known structures are relatively difficult to employ, often being difficult to load and requiring complex adjustment to impart the required tautness to the dental tape or floss utilized therewith.
In addition, many of the known devices do not provide maximum contact of the floss with the dentition surfaces to be cleaned and, in addition, due to their construction, necessitate the use of more than the needed amount of dental tape or floss for carrying out a given cleaning operation.
The disadvantages of the above-described devices have been substantially completely eliminated by the device and process of my U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,957 of Jul. 13, 1982. In that patent there is disclosed a dental prophylaxis device which comprises in combination housing means provided with an axial cavity and having a pair of spaced tynes provided with slotted openings disposed thereon and projecting outwardly therefrom, stationary support means on the housing in the vicinity of the base of each of the tynes and oscillating support means located on the housing between the bases of the tynes and which is supported on a cylindrical sleeve that is disposed axially within the cavity of the housing, the housing means being adapted to be connected to driving means to drive the oscillating support means through the cylindrical sleeve.
The dental prophylaxis process comprises contacting dentition surfaces to be treated with a dental floss having a thread segment which is provided with a non-elastic loop at one end and an elastic loop at the opposite end, reciprocating the thread segment over the surfaces of the dentition to be treated, while expanding and contracting the elastic loop in response to the application of tensile force to the dental floss as it reciprocates over the dentition surfaces and absorbing the tensile force which is imparted to the dental floss when it encounters resistance as it reciprocates over the dentition surfaces and the elastic loop expands.
While my previous device and process have substantially completely eliminated the disadvantages of the above-described device, there still exists, however, the need for such a device and process which exhibit even further improvement. The present invention fulfills this need. In particular, it eliminates the need to use any specially prepared or constructed length of floss and enables the user to employ lengths of floss severed when needed from conventional spools of floss such as are readily available in any pharmacy, while at the same time not only holding the floss in position where it may readily be inserted between adjacent teeth but also causing that floss when inserted to reciprocate axially and thus produce optimum prophylactic action. This is all accomplished by an exceedingly simple and highly effective mechanism. Means may also be provided for varying the resistance of the active floss to deformation when in use.
It is therefore the prime object of the present invention to devise an improved and simplified power driven tooth flosser in which the power drive causes the floss to axially reciprocate while it is in position between adjacent teeth.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a flosser causing the floss to axially reciprocate which can use lengths of ordinary floss such as are generally readily available.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tooth flosser of the type described in which the degree of resistance of the active floss length to deformation may be adjusted.